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Touch-screen remote, ultrathin panel mark Samsung's flagship LED-based LCD TV

The Samsung UNC9000 LED-based LCD TV includes a touch-screen remote and an ultrathin panel depth.

David Katzmaier Editorial Director -- Personal Tech
David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.
Expertise A 20-year CNET veteran, David has been reviewing TVs since the days of CRT, rear-projection and plasma. Prior to CNET he worked at Sound & Vision magazine and eTown.com. He is known to two people on Twitter as the Cormac McCarthy of consumer electronics. Credentials
  • Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
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David Katzmaier
2 min read

The UNC9000 series offers Samsung's best feature set announced at CES 2010. Samsung

Watch this: Samsung 9000 series 3D LED TV

Not content to wait for Apple to OK a TV-to-iPhone pairing, Samsung went ahead and developed its own multimedia-friendly touch screen that also happens to control its highest-end TV announced at CES this year, the UNC9000 series. The newfangled clicker has a color touch screen said to ease use of the TV's many features, and can even display broadcast TV content while a Blu-ray (for example) plays on the big screen. Integrated Wi-Fi and infrared enables the remote to command both the TV's interactive features--a QWERTY keyboard is a big help here--and other AV devices. It also allows you to browse content (video, music, photos) on connected computers and other DLNA devices in the home.

Aside from the remote, the UNC9000 distinguishes itself from less-expensive Samsung HDTVs by virtue of its amazing thinness. The company won't specify exactly how thin, but it's the thinnest TV we've seen announced at the show (LG showed a TV that's as thin as a quarter at its press conference, but that model was a concept piece without a model number or release date). It achieves its thin depth by virtue of placing all of the associated electronics, like the TV tuner and circuit boards, inside the pedestal stand. The stand can also be converted to a wall-mount bracket.

A touch-screen remote makes using interactive features much easier. Samung

The panel itself employs edge-lit LED backlighting, much like many of Samsung's 2008 models. The company's press material also mentions a new kind of backlight technology said to combine the benefits of local dimming with the thinness of edge-lighting. We asked Samsung's reps repeatedly to elaborate but got nothing more than that. When we get more information we'll update this section.

Samsung UNC9000 features:

  • Touch-screen remote with Wi-Fi
  • Ultrathin panel
  • Edge-lit LED backlight
  • 3D compatible
  • 2D to 3D conversion system
  • 240Hz refresh rate
  • Interactive capability with Samsung Internet @ TV and Samsung Apps

Check out the writeup of the step-down Samsung UNC7000 series for more details on the other features listed above.

Samsung didn't specify screen sizes for the UNC9000 series, nor did it list pricing or availability beyond saying simply "2010." Again, we'll update this section when we have more information.